


A Phoenix Among Feathers

by city_bright



Category: The Mindy Project
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-20
Updated: 2018-05-16
Packaged: 2018-12-31 17:27:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 17,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12137484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/city_bright/pseuds/city_bright
Summary: What if Mindy got pregnant from her tryst with Danny in the elevator?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It's a crazy idea, I know, but I couldn't be helped. 
> 
> How she got pregnant? Who knows - they didn't have a condom, or maybe they did but it broke. Maybe Mindy forgot to take her birth control cheese, I don't know, take your pick lol.

Mindy doesn’t know how it even happened. I mean, she does - it takes two and all that - but this is not how she wanted or even needed her life to go. As much as she would love another child, the timing is all wrong, the circumstances are all wrong, and maybe having another one with Danny was the worst of it all. They were doing really well after they finally decided to close that chapter of their lives, but this baby will write a whole new book for them. Though she could see the argument that if she were to get pregnant again, accidentally or not, by anyone, Danny would be the most convenient choice, given that they already share a child. What’s one more? 

But not when they’re already separated, and Danny ready to marry another woman, and Mindy’s fertility practice finally gaining its footing, and all the other aspects in her life that makes having another baby bad timing. But she can't bear the idea of not having this child because being a mother to Leo is the greatest and best love she has ever experienced, and this child chose her to be his or her mother at this time, and she figures there’s some strength and faith in that.

As for Danny, her guess is as good as anyone else’s. He has never been shy about his desire to have more kids with her, but she wonders if that even still stands. He is getting married to another woman after all and will presumably be having kids of their own. It’s certainly not an ideal situation to bring a child into, but maybe it’ll be okay. Maybe he’ll be okay with it since co-parenting Leo has actually gone as smoothly as they could’ve ever hoped for. Sure, co-parenting Leo and another child could throw things off kilter, but maybe there’s a slim possibility that co-parenting two kids would go just as well as co-parenting one. She even lets herself entertain with the idea of them getting back together, and the universe (and them) would need to do some serious repairs and magic for that to happen, but she won’t completely nix that possibility either. 

All these thoughts and scenarios plagued her mind in the span of a few minutes, the leg her elbow was resting on going numb to bring her back to earth. The pregnancy test feels like a lead weight in her hand, mocking her in a way she can’t quite pinpoint, but she knows is there. She tosses it in the trash, not wanting to think about her new reality any more than she already has. She just needs to tell Danny and get their ducks lined up in a row before she can even think about the repercussions. 

The weekend comes faster than she thought it would, and he’s standing in front of her, in the flesh, in the hallway outside her apartment, and she feels winded. As soon as he steps inside, she knows their lives are going to be changed forever, and she’s not sure if she’s ready for that, but she finds comfort that Danny probably won’t be ready either. And even though they have long broken up, he is and always will be her best friend and the man who gave her the greatest love, and no matter the circumstances, no matter where life takes them, that will never change. Mindy uses that comforting thought to push her to say the words.

“Danny, I’m- I have something to tell you.”

“Okay,” he responds with a twitch to the corner of his mouth. She’s acting weird, and it's making him nervous. 

“I don’t want you to freak out,” she starts calmly, “and I know it’s not ideal, like at all, but I’m…” She feels light headed, and she really hopes it’s from the fact that she has to drop this huge bomb on him and not from her being actually pregnant. She inhales deeply and grips the edge of her kitchen island for good measure. “I’m pregnant.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no patience, so here's another chapter lol

She can see the color physically drain from his face, and she actually thinks she killed him because his breath hitched, and he’s not moving. Mindy looks at him apologetically and gives him a minute to process. She takes a step forward, hoping to provide some form of comfort. “Danny?”

He holds up a hand, and she takes a step back, afraid that she’s somehow invaded his personal space even though they’re standing feet away from each other. “Sorry, I need a minute to…,” he trails off. She nods once in understanding and his eyes are a little wild, but that’s expected.

“You’re,” he exhales heavily with a splutter of his lips, “you’re pregnant.” The logistics of how it happened and how they’re gonna deal with this runs so wildly in his mind that he has to press the base of his palms into his eyes to make them go away. He drops his hands to his side and then on his hips. “Wow.”

“Yeah.” She looks away and plays with her fingers, unsure on how to move forward after this life altering fact has finally been introduced into the atmosphere.

“Are you-,” his voice croaks, dreading to ask the following question not because of what she might say, but because of what asking even implies. “Are you going to keep it?”

“I- Maybe. What do you think?”

He releases a light scoff because he doesn’t know what the fuck he thinks at all. There’s so much to emotionally unpack, and it makes him dizzy just thinking about it. He’s supposed to be getting married to someone else, not accidentally knocking up his ex-fiance, the woman he already shares a child with, though that is his fault when he thinks about it, but they’re supposed to be moving on with their lives. Not… whatever this is because it doesn’t feel like moving on. It feels like getting stuck and then turning back around to take a different highway.

There’s a tingle of joy in his body that makes him happy about expanding his family with the woman he truly loves and has always wanted more children with, but the costs seem exponential and unknown, and that’s scary. He has Sarah to think about now, but he doubts that she will still want to marry him since he essentially cheated on her and is even more irrevocably linked with Mindy. So if his relationship with Sarah tanks, and he is sure it will, then where does that leave him? With two children with the woman he loves, but not in a relationship with? Will they try again and get back together now that there’s another baby to consider? Will they still try to move on with their lives and co-parent like they’ve been doing? This is all too much for him to handle, but then he looks at Mindy, and he relaxes because she’s in this too. She’s with him on this, and it does something to alleviate the doubts and questions swirling erratically in his mind.

“Well, what do you think?” he repeats back to her.

“I asked you first.”

“Does it matter?” he asks with a small smile, attempting to keep it light. “You’re the one who’s pregnant.”

“Of course it matters, Danny. It’s not just me in this situation. As overbearing as you were in the past about us having more kids, it’s different now. Our lives are different now, and I need… no, I want you to be a part of this, whatever this is, no matter what happens.”

He looks around at her apartment, seeing Leo’s toys everywhere and imagining a little Mindy running around with her older brother, and it does a little something in his heart that makes him ache for what could be. As fucked up as they can be, and frankly are in a lot of ways, he knows he has a lot of love to give to their next little one. Whatever kind of relationship he has and will have with Mindy will never change the love he has for her, for Leo, and for their next baby. His eyes return to hers, and he knows his answer. It might be the wrong one, who knows at this point, but it is one he is willing to make and see through. So, he agrees to go on this journey with her if she’ll let him, one more time around the block he jokes, and resolves to deal with the emotional collateral damage later.


	3. Chapter 3

He tells Sarah, and it goes exactly as he expected. She gets mad, verbally attacks him for putting their relationship in this position, for doing this to her, for lying, for cheating, and he takes it because she's right and he deserves it. He apologizes, knowing it will do little to fix anything or help her move on, but says it anyway because what is there left to say? She moves out and returns the ring in record time, and he feels like he’s just been through an emotional tornado, his head and life spinning so out of control, it looks like a blur.

Danny somehow finds himself knocking on Mindy’s door, Mindy a little more than annoyed when she swings the door open, but her face softens seeing his disheveled hair and exhaustion trailing all of his features. She plants him on her couch and makes him a cup of tea. Her mom always makes her a cup of tea when she’s feeling distraught or distressed, and there’s something about the way a warm cup of tea revives the corners of her soul, and she hopes the same goes for Danny. 

He takes the mug from her hands and drinks appreciatively, the aching hollow of his bones finally relaxing. His palms are wrapped around the warm body of the mug, and he rests his head behind him and sighs, releasing the whirlwind that has been his life for the past couple of days into the air. 

Mindy has her legs tucked underneath her, her temple resting on a curled fist, looking at the man she could never seem to get away from, no matter how hard she tries. She feels the dozens of painful pinpricks consume her body seeing him so drained like this. “I’m sorry, Danny.”

“It’s not your fault, Min.” 

“Maybe not, but we wouldn’t be in this mess if I weren’t pregnant. We could’ve been… I don’t know, but not here.”

“Hey,” he says softly, straightening his posture from its slumped position on her couch. “It is not your fault, Mindy, do you hear me? I was the one who was dishonest about, well, everything, and this is just how it has to happen. She couldn’t be with me after what I did. Hell, I wouldn’t be with me either, but,” he shrugs, “it’s okay. I’m gonna be fine. _We’re_ going to be fine.”

She nods, and for a moment, she believes him. He motions for her to come closer, and she complies, wanting to provide him and herself some comfort in this situation neither of them asked for. He wraps his left arm around her shoulder and she rests her head on his shoulder as they mentally and emotionally settle into the predicament that they're in. 

Danny breaks the silence first, the wistfulness in his voice startling Mindy. “Do you think we’ll have a girl?”

She smiles at the fact that he chose to verbalize this as opposed to more pressing matters, so she entertains him. “I will literally give the baby back if we don’t. I cannot be outnumbered.” He laughs at the seriousness of her voice because she is Mindy Lahiri, and she will find a way to do that as impossible as it is. 

She leans away to look at him square in the eyes. “Who’s going to tell Leo?” Danny’s eyes go wide and shouts "not it!", but Mindy beats him to the punch to shout the same thing, but one ups him by putting a finger to her nose. 

“Damn it.” 

Leo takes it just fine. He wrinkles his nose, a little suspicious and a little curious as to how one even has a baby, but all he knows is that he’s getting someone to play with, and that’s really all that matters because quite frankly, he's been getting bored. Mindy and Danny sigh with relief, knowing that the birds and the bees conversation isn’t going to happen today. They smile at each other and spend the rest of the day together with Leo, eager to soak up every second they have as just the three of them because nothing will ever be the same again.


	4. Chapter 4

They take a few weeks to regroup, get their heads screwed on straight before diving into the logistics of having another child. Danny immediately suggests that they move into the brownstone together. Mindy was surprised not at the fact that he suggested they move in together, but at the fact that he still kept the brownstone. Then he goes off on a tangent about long term investments and how competitive the New York housing market is, and she just drops it to avoid another one of his boring, heated rants. But on second thought, moving in together?

“Wouldn’t that be weird though? We’re not even in a relationship anymore.”

Danny is a little caught off guard at Mindy’s hesitancy because isn’t moving in with his ex-fiancé with whom he already shares a child while she has another one of their children the perfectly normal thing to do? His head spins just thinking about it. He no longer knows what normal is or what it means. That ship has sailed long ago. 

“Wouldn’t it be weird if we didn’t? You’re having another baby, _we're_ having another baby. Did you think that we would just see each other once a week to drop off Leo for nine months straight until the baby comes and continue switching off every week too? That’s-” His voice cracks just imagining it and hypothetically allowing that kind of childhood for their children. He knows in his mind that that's happening to Leo now in a way, but somehow imagining Leo and a little baby moving in and out from one place to another seems even more wretched. “I just think that we can be better and stronger parents if we lived together, that’s all.”

Mindy nods thoughtfully and imagines the picture he painted for her, and he’s right. They can be there for each other when things get tough and be partners in this. While co-parenting Leo is relatively easy for them, maybe having another one on the way and then co-parenting two children won't be as easy as she thought. If something goes wrong, God forbid, during her pregnancy or even after she has the baby, living apart would just create another hassle in an already complicated situation.

“Yeah, you’re right, but the brownstone? Just move into my apartment. There’s more than enough room here, and it saves us both from having to move.” A look of dread flashes across his face. “Danny!”

“But your apartment is just so…," he shrugs.

She doesn’t even let him finish. “How dare you? I will have you know that my apartment has been featured in Architectural Digest, mister!” It hasn’t, but he doesn’t need to know that. “You should be ecstatic that you and your children get to live in this critically acclaimed space.”

“I-okay, fine. Whatever you want, Mindy,” he acquiesces. 

“Good," she says proudly, "then we need to establish some rules if we’re going to be living together.”

“What rules? We've lived together before. It’s all the same thing just without all the sex,” he smirks. 

“Ugh, gross.” She rolls her eyes and gives him a push in the shoulder. “Can you not be weird for one second?”

“I was just kidding,” he laughs. “I’m sorry, what are your rules?”

“Well, I guess it’s not really a rule, but we’re still on the same page about us not getting back together, right?” She knows they will always love each other, but just because she’s pregnant with his child, it doesn’t mean this baby can change the past. The reasons why they broke up are still there, baby or not, and she hopes he knows that. It can be easy to forget and get caught up in all the happiness and love that comes with having another child.

And Danny logically knows that they can’t get back together, but there was some glimmer of hope in his mind telling him that maybe this is the universe’s sign telling them that their relationship is worth fighting for, that their children are worth fighting for. It makes his heart fall that despite them having another child, she still doesn’t want to try again. But on the other side of the coin, he knows that if they do try again, and it still fails, then he might never recover or get over the fact that their love couldn’t conquer anything. So he nods and quietly agrees with her. 

They’re not getting back together.


	5. Chapter 5

It takes a few weeks, but Danny eventually moves into Mindy’s apartment and gets himself settled in. It’s weird and awkward for him to be in her space despite having been in it before, but everything in their lives has shifted, and he doesn’t quite know how to carry himself anymore. Sometimes he has to suppress the “Mindy, I’m home!” that curls under his tongue when he walks in the front door because no, it’s not their home. And when they finish reading Leo’s bedtime story and they each go to sleep, he has to remind himself not to follow her and join her in bed.

He goes to bed, but can’t sleep most nights because it's hard not to think about the curve ball life has thrown at him and all the things he had thought he had unlearned when it comes to Mindy, but didn’t. He tosses and turns, never able to get comfortable, and he flips the covers off him in frustration because damn it, he's angry. There is a specific kind of joy you experience when you find out you’re having a baby, and while that has never faltered, he's angry that this is the way it has to be. If all had gone according to plan, they'd be married by now, living in the brownstone he bought for them, and they’d be happy. But he's upstairs, and she's downstairs, and it feels like there's a whole world in between them.

Danny goes downstairs, mutters a curse word or two when he steps on a Lego going down the stairs, and gets a drink of water to calm himself. He sits at the kitchen island and just let's himself wallow and feel sorry for himself until his eyelids begin to droop. He finishes the last of his water, wishing it was a whiskey or a bourbon instead, before resigning back to the cold comforts of his new bed. He starts to make his way to the staircase, a new addition to Mindy's apartment he hasn't gotten used to yet, when he hears a sound that doesn't sound too far off from a cry. He takes a few steps up, thinking it could be Leo, but the sound is coming from Mindy's bedroom. He pauses and hopes the sound was a one off, but there it goes again, and he can't be the kind of person to walk away from a potentially distressed pregnant woman. So he quietly walks towards her room, proactively avoiding any Lego pieces, and presses an ear to her door, the sound becoming more clear. He opens the door, and Mindy is sleeping fitfully, the sheets bunched up in her fists. Her leg jerks as if she’s fighting someone off, she loudly whimpers a "no," and she's having a nightmare, and he doesn't feel sorry for himself anymore because he somehow just realized that this whole situation is probably just as hard on her, if not more, than it is on him.

He kneels beside her bed and wipes the stray hairs sticking on her forehead away and calls out her name. She wakes with a whimpered grunt, eyes frantically searching her room to make sure she's not in a dungeon.

"Hey, it's me,” he soothes, “you just had a bad dream."

Mindy realizes he's here, and she exhales in relief when she sees the soft yet pained look on his face. She nods quickly, rationalizing in her mind that yes it was a bad dream, and no she wasn't being dragged away from Danny, Leo, and the little baby wrapped up in blankets into a dark dungeon as they cried out her name to come back. She knows it wasn't real, but the burning ache consuming her body feels like it was, and hot tears fall from her face on their own.

Danny can't bear to see her like this, eyes filled with tears and fears he doesn't understand yet, so he settles in next to her to hug her and just let's her cry until her mind catches up to reality. She's shaking in his arms, and he keeps telling her that she's okay and that she's safe. She nods because she knows that she is, but the dream sent a hot iron into the middle of her heart, and the fire is still raging. He sheds a tear or two of his own because she's in pain, and he can't do much to stop it but be here with her, and he tells himself that that is enough.

She calms down after a few minutes and her breathing evens out, the little puffs of air warming the spot above his chest. She's asleep again, and he's not sure if he should stay just in case she has another nightmare or leave to go back to his room and give her her space. He stays until she rolls away from him to seek the cool sheets opposite her. He tries not to take it personally, but he does. He kisses her temple and goes back to his bed, hoping that sleep will come easier this time around. It doesn’t, but he manages a few hours of sleep and for that he's grateful.

Mindy wakes up alone to the soft morning light that feels too harsh in the midst of her empty bed. She half expected him to stay, but it probably wouldn't have been the best idea if he did. She can smell a little bit of his musky cologne at the edge of her bed, and she quickly gets out to avoid it, not wanting to think about what it means. She heads upstairs to check on him, she's not sure why, but her heart falls all the same when she finds his bed empty and made. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little inspired by this gif set, so basically a wish fulfillment chapter lol  
> http://mindyanddannyfineanddandy.tumblr.com/post/102454276348/sseuregis-the-castellanos-are-having-a-baby

She attempts to shake off this neediness she's been feeling ever since her nightmare, blaming it on the hormones. She has a couple more heart wrenching dreams and fights every instinct to seek him because she doesn't want to need him like this. During the day, she keeps her distance the best she can, but there is somehow always something to pull her back in. She thinks she shouldn't fight it anymore because maybe she does need him sometimes.

* * *

Mindy's uncomfortableness has been lingering all day, the waves of nausea coming and going, which isn’t unusual at this point of her pregnancy, but she pushes through it the best she can. She flops on the couch as soon as she gets home, a comforting reprieve from being on her feet all day, but the uncomfortableness that has been settling over her abdomen intensifies and turns into pain. She runs the gamut of potential diagnoses to her symptoms, but the slowly increasing pain isn't going away, and her mind becomes hazy, unable to focus on anything else. She’s breathing heavily as the fear that something is wrong and the realization that there’s no one here to help grows. Leo is with Annette, and she doesn’t know when Danny is coming home, so she picks up her phone to call him. He walks in the door before the first ring even goes off.

“Oh, thank god,” she breathes desperately, reaching out to him, “Danny, I- something’s wrong, I don’t-“

Danny drops all of his stuff at the door at the sight of her curled up on the couch and immediately rushes to her side. She looks clammy, and his heart is racing as he sweeps his fingers across her face.

"Mindy, what's going on? Tell me what's wrong," he pleads.

"I don't know," she whimpers, inhaling sharply, "it just hurts."

Without preamble, he scoops her in his arms, telling her to grab her phone. "We're going to the hospital." She curls into him and rests her head on his shoulder, thankful that he's here, and she shuts her eyes to fight off the sharp pain. He's leaning against the corner of the elevator, somehow feeling safe in this inconspicuous corner, and he whispers into her hair that she'll be okay. Even in the cab, he never lets her go.

They get to St. Brendan, and there's a wait, and he thinks it's ridiculous because it's Dr. Mindy Lahiri, for goodness sake. He was just about to tell off a poor nurse when they finally get a room, Mindy hooked up to monitors, and an ultrasound going. He hears the baby's heartbeat, and he feels better, but not enough to unclench his fists and stop worrying. They give her something for the pain, but it's hours before the doctor comes in to update them with the test results, which makes them feel better because if it was urgent, they’d know much sooner, but if it wasn’t anything serious, then maybe they’d know sooner too. He’s awkwardly hunching over from his chair next to the bed to rest his head near her hip. Her fingers are mindlessly playing with his hair as he sleeps, but sleep doesn’t come as easily to Mindy, even with the pain killers.

The doctor walks in shortly after, taken by surprise by Danny’s sleeping state and offers an apology for interrupting. She informs Mindy that she and her daughter are perfectly healthy, but she does have a stomach infection. “Just get some rest and take it easy,” she advises. “We’ll keep you overnight to make sure everything checks out, but you're going to be fine."

“Wait, did you just say ‘daughter’?”

The doctor nods, confused. “You didn’t find out during your 20 week scan? I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to tell you if you didn’t want to know. I-”

“No, no, no, it’s okay. The baby wasn’t positioned well enough for the technician to tell. That’s- wow, that’s wonderful news, thank you.”

“Okay,” she says with a sigh of relief. “Well, congratulations, Dr. Lahiri. I’ll come back to check up on you in a little bit.”

Mindy gives her an appreciative smile, and it grows as she imagines Leo being a protective big brother and her having a little girl to pamper. During the 20 week scan, Danny said that it must be a girl because only Mindy's daughter would be so stubborn, but Mindy argues that he's just as stubborn and dramatic, if not more, so it could be that they're having another boy. She can’t believe Danny was right from the get go about them having a girl. He’s going to love her so much, and she can’t wait to see him be a father to a daughter. She looks down at his relatively peaceful form, and she attempts to hold back the itch to wake up him to tell him the good news. She lasts about a minute before waking him up by playfully poking him in the face.

“Danny?"

“Hm, what’s going on?" he mumbles, voice still riddled with sleep. "Are you okay? What did the doctor say?”

“She said I have a stomach infection. We’ll have to stay overnight, but the baby is perfectly fine,” she reassures him.

“Oh, thank goodness. What about-”

“Ehh, don’t worry about it, none of that matters,” she interrupts with a wave of her hand. “Guess what?”

“What?” he asks worriedly.

“We’re having a girl.”

“Are you serious?” Mindy confirms that she’s as serious as a heart attack, and his face lights up with so much joy that she thinks she might actually have a heart attack of some sort herself. He laughs in pure disbelief, and Mindy pulls him in for a tight hug. He releases her, giving her a kiss on her cheek before resting his hand on her growing stomach over their daughter.

She leans her head back onto the pillow and yawns, the exhaustion finally getting to her. Mindy moves to one side of the bed and motions for him to join. He gives her a questioning look, and she says that she’s tired and he should just get in because there’s no way he’s going to sleep on a small dingy chair in the corner of the room all night. He refuses, says he’ll sleep in the doctor’s lounge, but she rolls her eyes at him.

“Daniel Castellano, just get in the damn bed with your baby mama.” He takes off his jacket, muttering under his breath about having a daughter with the most complicated woman he’s ever met, and lays beside her. "See? Was that so hard?"

He half heartedly grumbles out a response as Mindy gets comfortable, curling into his side for warmth. She lays a protective arm over stomach and closes her eyes, letting sleep slowly overtake her.

"Danny?" she mumbles.

"Yeah, Mindy?"

"Thank you for my baby."

He smiles and kisses the top of her head, resting his own head on hers before falling asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

After a few days of rest after being discharged from the hospital, Mindy got back into the swing of things, hoping her first day back to work would be a smooth one. She quickly realizes it was a naive thought because when is being a doctor ever easy or smooth on any given day? Mindy comes home late, and she's grateful that Danny is here with Leo instead of a poor nanny or Annette babysitting until 2 am. She walks to Leo's room to check on him, a little confused as to why the light is still on, but she turns the corner and sees why. There's a book open on Danny's chest, and Leo is sleeping soundly, tucked into the crook of Danny's arm. She smiles at the sweet scene, and her heart swells with the love she has for them, tears prickling in her eyes. She quietly walks in, the light swish of her scrubs causing Danny to stir. He deeply inhales and smells something warm and familiar, and he cracks open an eye, wondering where it's coming from. He sees Mindy doting over their son, brushing his curls away from his face, and he manages to croak out a greeting.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. I just wanted to check up on him," she whispers quietly.

"No, it's okay. He's great. Long night?"

"Ugh, the worst." Mindy had an emergency C-section that took a turn for the worst. She was so close to losing the mother, who was quickly bleeding out as the seconds ticked on. She and her OR team were able to stop the bleeding and offer a blood transfusion, and the mother is recovering nicely now, but sometimes tough nights like these can shake her to her core and leave her emotionally drained. Seeing her son sleep without a care in the world brings her back to life and reminds her that there is still good in this world, and the tears she managed to hold back a few minutes ago come falling down.

"Hey, what's wrong? Is everything okay?" Danny asks softly with a touch to her arm.

"Yeah, it's just been a long day," she reassures him, smiling softly. "I'm fine, just happy to be home." 

He looks at her worriedly, but nods, not wanting to press it further. He carefully extricates himself from Leo's hold and stretches his back when he finally stands. He leans down to kiss Leo's forehead and turns to Mindy. "Come on, let's go to bed." 

He turns off the light as he shuts the door behind him and follows Mindy downstairs to make sure she gets to her room okay.

"You didn't have to walk me down," she manages to say mid yawn. 

He shrugs apologetically. "I wanted to make sure you're okay. You had a rough day, and after what happened, I just- I get worried.

"Thanks, Danny, that’s very thoughtful of you, but I'm fine, I promise. I just need to get some sleep."

"Okay, good," he says with a relief. "Good night, Mindy." He automatically reaches out to touch her growing stomach, wanting to reassure himself that she and their baby are here and real, but he pauses just for a second when he realizes what an invasion of personal space that is. She gives an encouraging nod, and he quickly runs a hand over their baby. 

“Good night, Danny.”

He smiles at her and goes back up the stairs to his own room, and he wishes he didn't feel like he was leaving her all alone or walking away from something he can’t pinpoint. He manages to fall asleep, even with all the thoughts running through his mind, but he wakes up when his body registers the weight on his stomach and the whisper.

"Daddy?" 

He hums in response, blinking rapidly and wiping the crusts from his eyes. Leo has climbed atop his stomach and tells him he had a bad dream. "I'm sorry, bud. Do you want to stay with me for a while?" 

"Yeah," Leo says, climbing into bed and under the covers with his father. 

"Try to get some sleep, okay?" Leo clutches Danny's arm, burrowing into his side, and he sleeps for what feels like three minutes before he wakes him up once more.

"Daddy?"

"Hmm, yeah, Leo?"

"Can we see Mommy?" Danny tries not to think about how he maybe didn't provide his son enough comfort to whisk away his fears from his bad dream, but he agrees. They get out of bed, and he picks up Leo, his limbs wrapped around him, and it settles the lingering fears that he might not be a good enough father as he'd like. They reach Mindy's side, and Danny kneels by her bed, Leo still in his arms.

"Min," he says quietly, slowly rubbing her arm. She mumbles something, still not quite awake, and he repeats her name a little more loudly. She stirs and opens her eyes, confused to see them both in front of her. 

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, he had a bad dream, and he wanted to see you." Leo turns away from him and reaches out to his mother. He asks if Daddy can stay, and Danny wonders if it's possible for a small child to be sophisticated enough to orchestrate some sort of scheme to get his separated parents to be in the same bed together. But then he thinks about all the other potential nights Leo has had bad dreams and wanted both of his parents to comfort him, but only had the one that night. Of course he'd want both of his parents given the chance. Now that Leo is getting older and is starting to realize and pick things up, sometimes he wonders how much of him and Mindy not being together affects Leo, but as he gets into bed with them, he hopes that maybe, just maybe, this one night will start to make up for it.


	8. Chapter 8

The first thing that popped into Danny’s mind the next morning was “ugh, this child.” Danny’s lying on his stomach and Leo is on his back, and it’s mildly annoying because he knows his back is going to give him a hard time all day, but it’s also kind of the thing he adores about being a father. He opens his eyes to see Mindy staring at them with a bemused smile on her face.

“Are you going to keep staring or are you going to take him off my back?” he teases.

“Oh, I’m definitely going to keep staring. I’m committing this to memory. Actually…” Mindy turns over to grab her phone so she can take a picture of their son piggybacking on him.

“Okay,” he quietly chuckles. He closes his eyes again, partially to avoid eye contact with Mindy because this morning is blurring boundary lines and he doesn’t want to deal with it just yet. Waking up next to Mindy with their son in bed was exactly the kind of image he had in his mind about how their family would be like, and it’s actually happening right now, in real time, but that grey cloud in the back of his mind reminds him that it’s not as real or perfect as it really is.

Mindy smiles at the photos she’s taken, her heart fluttering at the sight of her greatest loves in life lying so sweetly in front of her. She rests her hand over her stomach, and she imagines an alternate life where their son and daughter are wedged between them in bed and she looks over and sees Danny smiling at her. She wonders if they could still have that kind of life. Feeling a little brave and maybe even a little bit reckless, she asks him if he ever imagined their lives to be like this.

“Have I ever thought about the three of us sleeping and waking up in the same bed together? Us having another baby? Yeah, of course I have, but,” he sighs, “not like this.”

She nods, knowing exactly what he means because she feels the same way too, and she’s not sure what to do about the life they both want, but don't have. “Yeah, me too,” she says softly.

Leo begins to wake up, cracking Danny's back in the process. He rolls off Danny's back and into the space between his parents, nearly smacking their faces. "What's for breakfast?!" he asks immediately.

Definitely Mindy's child, Danny thinks. "Well, good morning to you too, bud."

"Good morning," he finally greets them. "What's for breakfast?"

"I don't know, but why don't you help me decide, and we can let your mother rest?" Leo agrees and jumps into his arms, and goodness, that hurt, and he's getting so big, and Danny doesn't know where the time has gone.

They finish making breakfast, and Danny takes his son into his arms, so they can both get Mindy to come out for breakfast. He sneaks a single flower from the vase on her kitchen island and tells Leo to give the flower to her. Danny releases him at her door and watches as he rushes to her bedside, where she's still sleeping.

"Mommy, wake up. It's time for breakfast." She wakes immediately and sees Leo holding out a flower for her, and she might cry right then and there. "This is for you."

She takes the flower as she sits up in bed and hugs him close to her chest. "I love it, thank you." She dares to look at Danny, and the thought that he might have a hand in this sweet gesture overwhelms her. Mindy releases Leo from her embrace, and he takes her hand to lead them to the breakfast spread waiting in the kitchen, and as they walk past Danny, she places a hand on his arm and smiles.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dialogue heavy in comparison to previous chapters, but what can ya do? lol

Even though they're approaching the heart of a New York winter season, Mindy doesn't wear much more than a t-shirt and shorts as pajamas because, like her first pregnancy, it feels like she's swallowed a space heater, and she is constantly running hot. Even the material of her couch is proving to be too hot as she attempts to take a nap. The baby is also swimming around a lot, which adds to the discomfort because it feels like there's a little alien doing somersaults inside of her. Danny is sitting on the opposite end of the couch, engrossed in a Ken Burns documentary that she has long given up on following, and she groans in frustration and gives him a death stare for being the true source of her overall irritation.

"Why are you the way that you are?"

He whips his head to face her, in shock that she's even awake, and why is she attacking him like this. "What is that supposed to mean?!"

"Ugh," she groans, "everything! Why do Italians run hot? I'm dying over here. Is this what it feels like to be you every day? Ugh. It wasn't even this bad with Leo. I didn't ask for this, and it's basically all your fault." She crosses her arms over her stomach, and even though having a baby is kind of a miracle and amazing, women really got the short end of the stick here.

"I'm sorry," he grins, ignoring the roll of her eyes. She's cute when she pouts.

"Apology not accepted."

"You know? Maybe we should name the baby Mariah since she's probably gonna be a diva like her mom," he smirks.

"Danny?! Was that an accurate pop culture reference? I'm so proud," she smiles with a hand to her chest. "And normally, I would fully be on board with that, but Mariah Carey is a little too extra for me, and while I fully expect our daughter to be a diva, I want her to be a nice diva, you know?"

“I guess?” He returns his attention to the documentary, but Mindy inhales a little too sharply for his own sense of security, so he looks back over, and she's trying to sit up, clutching the side of her stomach. Preparing for the worst, he reaches out to her. "Hey, what's wrong?”

“It's nothing," she reassures with a shake of her head. "She just kicked me really hard." Mindy takes his hand and presses it to the spot where she kicked. "Here, feel."

"She kicked?" he asks excitedly, desperately waiting for the next kick of their daughter.

“Mhmm. Maybe she hates the name Mariah,” she muses. The baby kicks again under Danny's hand. "Yeah, definitely hates it."

"Hey, hi, little one," he says softly as he leans closer. "I promise not to let your mother name you after divas, okay?" She swims under his hands, and he takes that as a positive reaction. "Okay, deal.”

"Hey!” she cries with a light push to his shoulder. “Don't promise her that! What about Beyoncé?!" The baby kicks again in protest, and it's unbelievable that she's taking Danny's side already, on Beyoncé of all things. "This child is not mine. She can’t disrespect the queen,” she whispers as if the baby could even understand her.

"Oh, come on, she's gonna love you despite her lack of interest in musical divas. She might love me more, but what can you do?" he shrugs smugly.

"Danny!"

“I was kidding with you! Don’t get riled up.” 

“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one growing a human and with raging hormones.”

“True. So, do you want to come with me to pick up Leo, or do you wanna stay here and continue making the human?"

She sighs heavily, mentally weighing her options because if she goes, then she'll have to get dressed, which is just daunting right now. But if she stays home, then she might get a little too listless and bored, and she can’t be alone with her thoughts. "I guess I'll go. The cold weather outside will help with this space heater situation."

He raises an eyebrow. "Space heater?"

"Yeah, it's what I call the _agony_ that is being pregnant with _your_ child because in case you haven't noticed," her voice lilting up dramatically, "I'm wearing shorts in December. I'm always so hot."

“Yeah, you are,” he agrees enthusiastically with that smug yet whimsical look that very few people can pull off.

She shoots him an exasperated look, raising up a hand. "Thank you for agreeing that I am hot as hell, but this is not a joking matter, Daniel."

"Alright,” he chuckles. “Go get dressed. We have to leave soon if we're gonna pick him up on time."

Mindy changes into a pair of jeans, pulls up a pair of boots and throws on with a coat over her t-shirt. She walks out of her room where she's met with a raised eyebrow from Danny, who wonders if she'll be warm enough out there in the light snowfall. She says she'll be fine because the coat was already making her break a sweat. They leave her apartment to pick up their son, and his hand is steady on the small of her back like it always is. When they reach the school, Leo spots them immediately and runs towards them because having both parents pick him up is a rarity. Mindy bends down with open arms to welcome her son as Danny stands back a little bit and enjoys the moment. Growing up, his own father never really picked him up from school, even on the good days, so to be able to do this and be here with them eases his heart. He smiles and reminds himself to cut himself some slack. He’s not his father, he never will be, he knows that now.

Danny steps forward, bends down to pick Leo up, and places him on his hip. He asks him about his day and as they walk out together, Mindy links an arm through his, and he finally feels like he has the family he’s been dreaming of.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> things are hashtag happening

They tuck Leo in for bed and return downstairs. Danny is cleaning up in the kitchen, while Mindy is sitting on the island, heels of her feet tapping against the cabinets. She's happily eating her latest pregnancy craving - caramel cookie crunch ice cream - and she's just pregnant enough so that if she leans back far enough, she can successfully balance the container on her belly. She’s chattering away about something, but he can’t quite pay attention because she’s smiling at him like she did when she suggested they buy Greece together. He can't tell if it's due to the ice cream or what, but it's distracting all the same. 

He finishes up with the dishes and leans against the counter opposite her. "Min, do you have to balance the ice cream on your stomach like that? It's freaking me out." She insists it's a talent, but all he can see is the container just tipping over and spilling all of its sticky contents onto the island, and he cringes at the thought.

"Yes, Danny, I have to. I need to take advantage of this ability while I can." She eats another spoonful of ice cream, but a drop from the bottom of the spoon lands on her shirt. "Damn it," she mutters under her breath. Maybe he has a point.

Danny sighs, playfully shaking his head as he retrieves a napkin. "Don't move. You're gonna spill that whole thing." 

She returns to a more upright position, setting down the ice cream next to her, and lets him wipe away the small trail of ice cream on the top of her stomach. “Thanks." 

He leans back against the counter as she resumes eating her ice cream. She looks so at ease and happy that he really doesn't want to make her upset by asking about the status of their relationship. 

Danny has no idea what they’re doing anymore. They went into this new phase of their lives agreeing that nothing changes and they won’t get back together, but everything _is_ changing. There was a time period where it was a bit awkward, and they didn’t know how to adjust to their new normal, but now he cooks them breakfast and dinner, she lets him kiss her cheek every night before they part ways for the night, they watch tv as a family when their schedules allow it, they bicker, but they don’t fight, and every now and again, she touches his arm, and everything makes sense again. 

They’re finally in a good place, but it feels like he’s playing house under some pretense to an invisible audience because in a way, he’s waiting for the other shoe to drop and have Mindy tell him that she’s found somebody else or decided that she doesn’t want to do this anymore. 

“You okay? You look a little spaced out,” she asks, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“Yeah, I’m-.” She’s looking at him a little worriedly and maybe even a little hopefully too, and she has a little bit of ice cream on the corner of her mouth, and he can’t shake the feeling that this could be his last chance. He’s going to do it. Rip off the band aid as they say. “Mindy, what’s going on between us? We agreed that we wouldn’t do it again, but this,” he sighs and motions between the two of them, “it doesn’t feel like not getting back together. I don’t know, do you want something more than this?”

"Oh." She licks her lips, catching the last of her ice cream, and sets the container beside her. This conversation has been a long time coming, but it surprises her nonetheless because up until now, she thought he was fine with their current arrangement. Every once in a while, she imagines that maybe, yeah, they could get back together, but they broke up for very real reasons that don’t just disappear. Mindy mostly tries not to think about it.

"Have you really not thought about the possibility that we could get back together? Some day?"

“Yeah, of course I have," she answers truthfully, "but it's not that easy. I can't just pretend like the past never happened.”

"What if we did though? We could start with a clean slate."

"And for what? To break up again over the same reasons as before? Nothing has changed.”

"But everything has changed! C'mon, what was the one reason why we broke up, Min? Tell me." He takes her hands and playfully gives them a shake in an attempt to get her to smile and see that things are different now.

"You wanted me to stay at home and give up my career, so we can have more kids," she says, realizing that he has never once asked her about it or even hinted at it in the last six months, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything.

“And looks at us now. We're having another kid, we've been living together for months now, and not once did I say that I wanted you to stop working because I don't want you to."

She shakes her head and releases her hands from his grasp to grip the edge of the island, ignoring the fall on his face and needing to feel grounded by something other than him. "You say that now, but you might feel differently when the baby comes or something, you don't know. And if we start fighting over the same things..." She can't even think about it. "I don’t want to put myself through that again."

"I know, I don’t either, but we don't even fight anymore. Not like we used to. And I see how happy Leo is when you come home from work, and it doesn't matter what kind of day you've had or what time you come home, you always spend time with him or check in on him. And, I don't know, I guess I just needed to see it to realize that you working isn't a bad thing. You were right because he really did turn out fine and it's only because he has you as a mom."

Mindy dares to look him in the eyes, and she can see the sincerity in his features that have only ever crossed his face a handful of times. She's hesitant, but then she remembers the conversation she had with her a mom last month when she went to Concord. She told her that she feels like she’s falling back into the Danny vortex even though she knows full well she can’t and shouldn’t, like she’s failing herself for not being strong enough to avoid it. Every time he looks at her, her resolve gets weaker and the ability to remember to not get caught up in it all just because they’re having another baby seems to get further and further away.

_“It’s perfectly normal to feel that way, dear, but maybe it’s a sign. This baby could give you guys a chance to start over again.”_

_“It's not,” she disagrees, shaking her head. “We keep breaking up and getting back together and breaking up, it’s just not meant to be, Mom. We still want different things, and the baby doesn’t change any of that. I_ know _that, so why do I still feel like it does?”_

_“Because you love him, and he loves you. The both of you always have, and that doesn't just go away. Maybe deep down you do want it to change."_

_"So, what do I do?"_

_"Whatever makes you happy, Mindy."_

She wants it to be as simple as that because she’s learned that just because it makes you happy, doesn’t mean it’s right or good for you, like how a bear claw can be the best part of her day, but does nothing for her health. Looking back at their relationship, it was full of road blocks and obstacles, many of them growing pains, but a lot of them were also deep rooted in insecurities and fears that neither of them could really handle. They've tried really hard to make it work in the past, and they still didn’t end up together, but she realizes that maybe it’s not about going through the motions to make it work anymore. They’ve been by each other’s side for years, whether they chose to be or not, and maybe they just needed to grow up without each other for a little bit. Maybe he’s her bear claw - one of the few things that makes her happy, though not necessarily good for her, but goes after anyway. 

She doesn't need him, but she wants him, so she takes a deep breath and pulls him closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know, don't even ask me about the bear claw thing, just don't lol


	11. Chapter 11

Her lips tastes of caramel, she smells sweet like honey, and he'd let her have all the caramel cookie crunch ice cream in the world if it means he gets this forever. He's gently cupping her jaw, his fingers weaving in her long hair, and he's kissing her so maddeningly slow and soft that she's bunching the front of his sweater in her hand in frustration. Mindy lets herself fall into him and decides not think about what will happen in the morning mostly because it’s hard to think about anything when he’s kissing her like that.

His lips are barely floating over her skin in between kisses on her neck, and a small gasp escapes her because she's forgotten how crazy he can drive her in the best way possible. His nose is bumping against hers, and he smiles against her lips, happy to be kissing her, which is something he’s been wanting to do for months. He walks them to her bedroom, sealing his unspoken promises to love her completely into her skin, and when he looks at her as she comes, there’s no doubt in his mind that wants to be with her all his life. 

Mindy wakes up first, and she can hear the even rise and fall of his breath. The baby is swimming excitedly inside of her, and it matches the way her mind feels after last night. It feels like a new beginning for them because even though their problems are by no means completely solved, they’re in a much better place than they were last year or even years before that. A part of her is still wary because as high as they can fly together, they can spiral downwards just as quickly. They’ve both been damaged by previous relationships and by each other that every turning point or stepping stone of their relationship thus far has always been caused by lies, misunderstandings, fear, and desperation. But for the first time, neither one of them are one foot in, one foot out or looking for excuses because God knows how much of those they’ve had. And if divorces, drugged up, crazy exes, failed engagements, two breakups, three thousand fights, and two kids can’t keep them apart, then maybe their relationship is worth fighting for. 

She pulls the comforter closer to her chest as she closes her eyes and sighs contently, trying to chase the remaining remnants of unconsciousness. Danny flutters his eyes open and wipes away the sleep in his eyes as he adjusts to the dim morning light. He groans as he stretches under the covers and turns his head to make sure she’s really by his side and he didn’t just imagine last night. Her back is facing him, and her breathing is steady save for the occasional deep sigh she releases, letting him know she's awake. 

She moves to lay on her back and then her other side, groaning with discomfort as she feels her insides move with her, a feeling she hasn’t gotten used to yet. Mindy runs her hand over her stomach to try to calm down the little human inside of her, but Danny has a sleepy smile on his face as he greets her good morning, and she can’t help the somersault her stomach, or their daughter, makes in response. She giggles at the idea of her reaction to Danny could have such an effect on the baby. 

“What are you laughing at?” he smiles as he moves closer and kisses the corner of her mouth.

“Nothing,” she insists, burrowing further into his chest, desperate to stay in bed with him forever, but her alarm has other plans for her. “Nooo,” she groans, the sound muffled by Danny’s shirt. “Just five more minutes.”

Danny releases her from his embrace, ignoring her protests, and rounds the bed and repeatedly tugs on her blanket. "Come on, Min."

She moves from one side to the other, struggling just a little, and he feels bad for smiling, but the small puffs of frustration are kind of funny and cute. "Stop laughing, you jerk, and help your girlfriend, the _mother_ of your _beautiful_ _mixed race_ _children_ up, or so help me God-,” her voice rising.

"Okay, you don't need to bring him into this," Danny interrupts, supporting her so she can swing her legs over the side of the bed and sit up. She sighs and slumps her shoulders, already tired from the exertion. It takes him a moment to process what she said, and he smiles at the idea. “Wait, you’re my girlfriend?” 

“I’m not? If I wasn’t after last night, we would have some serious issues, buddy,” she teases, lightly tugging the front of his shirt.

“No, you are,” he confirms with a kiss to her lips. He tries to deepen it, but she pulls away, ever the tease.

“Good,” she says, standing up quickly as if she weren’t just struggling with sitting up just moments before, “because there’s no turning back now, Castellano.” She gives him a quick kiss on the lips before breezing past him, a sly smile on her face, and as he turns around to see her walk away, he’s perfectly okay with that.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is dialogue heavy and not much really happens in it, plot wise, and it's kind of a mess, but it's really just an excuse to write more mindy, danny and leo moments lol. 
> 
> and thank you to everyone who has read, commented, or left kudos. you (and they) all mean so much to me and just thank you, thank you <3

Mindy and Danny go about their morning like usual. Mindy is getting Leo dressed and ready for school upstairs, while Danny is making breakfast for them. He hears the familiar tapping of her heals coming down the stairs, so he looks up from the omelette on the stove and sees Mindy in one of her smartly coordinated outfits that accentuates her curves with Leo on her hip, and he wonders how she remains so perfect. Definitely the best decision he’s ever made, he thinks.

She meets him in the kitchen, peering over and removing the lids from the various pots and pans on the stove to see what he’s making. She wrinkles her nose at the oatmeal, asking him how it managed to get in her kitchen where it is strictly banned. “Leo likes it,” Danny smiles proudly, giving Leo a kiss on the cheek. “Don’t you, Leo?” 

“Yeah,” he smiles, nodding in confirmation. Mindy can’t believe her child got Danny’s sensibility for food. He’s got Leo requesting a salad for lunch, and now he likes oatmeal? When will it end?

“Unbelievable,” she shakes her head, walking them away from the oatmeal horror in the kitchen to the dining room table. They finish breakfast without further incident, and Mindy starts getting Leo’s lunch box ready while Danny helps him gather his things for school at the door.  

"Okay, you got everything?” Leo nods in the affirmative. "Okay, let me get your lunch, and we can go." He meets Mindy at the kitchen island where she's zipping up the lunch box. "All set?"

"All set. I included an apple at his insistence, but I also put in goldfish crackers to balance it out. And don't yell at the crackers. The goldfish don't deserve that," she smirks knowingly as she hands him the lunch box.

"That was one time!" The image of goldfish exploding out of the bag he attempted to open flashes across his mind, and it makes him want to go into a rant about the ergonomics of tiny snack packets, but he shakes his head before it can begin because he has no time for this. "I'll see you tonight for dinner?”

“I have a C-section scheduled at four, but yeah, I’ll be back in time for dinner,” she smiles as she rounds the island and meets Leo at the door to say goodbye. “Alright, Leo, have a good day. Daddy will pick you up from school and take you to Grandma’s, and I’ll pick you up there.”

“Okay, Mommy.” She gives him a kiss and a hug before standing and says bye to Danny. He kisses her cheek and takes Leo’s hand as they walk towards the elevator. He picks him up when they get outside because the streets are still a little icy and slippery from the latest snowfall, and once they get to the subway station on 14th Street, he texts Mindy to be careful. He places his phone back into his pocket and turns his attention to Leo, who wastes no time in asking the hard hitting questions.

“Daddy, are you and Mommy getting back together?”

Danny looks at his son incredulously, completely unprepared for this. He and Mindy agreed to get back together just this morning and neither of them made any mention of telling Leo, though in hindsight they probably should have talked about it. Does Leo even know what getting back together means? He’s four, but maybe he's is more observant than he thought. “What makes you say that?” Leo just shrugs. “Would you be happy if we did?”

He smiles wide and nods. “Yeah, I like it, it’s fun.”

Danny chuckles. “Yeah, it’s fun? Well, I can’t promise anything, but don’t worry about Mommy and Daddy, okay? No matter what happens between your Mom and I, we will always love you.”

“Okay.”

They arrive at the school entrance, and Danny sets him down and fixes his coat one last time. “Have a great day, and I’ll see you after school. Be good.”

“Duh,” Leo replies with one of Mindy’s signature eye roll, making Danny smile.

“That’s my boy.” He watches his son run off towards his teacher and waves one last time before Leo walks inside. 

* * *

Mindy and Leo arrive back to the apartment, opening the door to the smell of Danny's famous chicken noodle soup and the kind of warmth that distinctly comes from something roasting in the oven. Leo greets Danny hello with a hug to his leg, and Danny runs a hand over his wavy hair before instructing him to go upstairs and get ready for dinner.

"I need to talk to your mom,” Danny says as Leo reluctantly lets go of him and trudges up the steps. 

“Ooh, was that code for something sexy?” she grins mischievously, leaning into him and kissing him.

He kisses her gently before pulling away and asking her why that would be code for something to which Mindy simply shrugs. “Something weird happened today,” he whispers quietly, looking over her shoulder at the staircase to make sure the coast is clear.

“Why are you whispering?”

“Because I don’t want him to hear,” his voice getting even lower.

“Who?”

“Leo! But that doesn’t matter. Look, he asked me this morning if you and I were getting back together,” he replies quickly, glancing over once more.

“Really?” Mindy steals a prepared strawberry, which she assumes is meant for dessert, from the bowl on the counter. “Why? What did you say?” 

“I don’t know! I just told him not to worry about it and that no matter what happens between us, we’ll always love him.”

“Aww!” she exclaims, reaching into the cupboard for bowls and heading towards the dining table to set it with Danny trailing closely behind.

“Mindy, will you focus? What do we do?”

“I don’t think there’s anything _to_ do. Did you tell him anything else?”

“I told him that I couldn't promise him anything. He said that the three of us being together was fun. I just-” he sighs as he looks up the stairs, remembering the smile on his face when he said that. Leo looked so happy, and Danny wants to tell him that they are back together, but it’s just seems too early to tell him. "I don't want to lie to him."

“I know, I don't either, but we can’t tell him. Not yet anyway. Just give us a little more time, and then we can tell him, okay?” He nods and agrees to wait just a while longer because deep down he knows it's for the best. The last thing he wants to do is get Leo's hopes up and disappoint him. Mindy rests both of her hands on his shoulders and kisses him, and he visibly relaxes. "Okay, now go get your son because dinner looks delicious, and I'm starving."

Danny does as she says and finds Leo in his room, lying on the floor in true Lahiri fashion. He stops at the doorframe and chuckles. “What are you doing?”

“I’m hungry, Daddy. I think I’m going to die.” 

He walks inside and sits on his haunches beside him. “You’re not gonna die, you nut job. Dinner is ready, come on.”

“I can’t,” he whines.

“You are just like your mother, you know that?”

Leo sighs dramatically as if he's heard that phrase one too many times. “I’ve been told.”

Danny lets out a small laugh. How did he get so lucky with such a smart kid? “You have, huh? Well, you don’t want to keep her waiting, do you?”

“I guess not. Okay,” he resigns, pulling himself up off the floor and heading back downstairs. Danny follows suit, and they join Mindy at the dining table, where she's already digging in. Danny mocks indignation at her inability to be a little more patient, and she sets down her utensils and glares at him, a comeback ready on the tip of her tongue. She fires back with her best shot and he just smirks, knowing that he'll never grow tired of seeing the fire light in her eyes.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> minor christmas angst lol

Christmas celebrations are in full swing at the Lahiri-Castellano household. Since Leo is on winter break from school, Mindy and Danny are spending all their free time carrying on Christmas traditions with Leo like decorating the tree and constructing ginger bread houses. And on Christmas morning, the best tradition of all is opening the presents. After Leo receives and opens his gifts, it’s Mindy’s turn to open hers because she insists 'ladies first.'

“Okay, what did you get me?” she asks excitedly, clapping her hands together. Danny has never disappointed with Christmas gifts, and she can’t wait to see how he’ll surprise her this year.

“Well, I couldn’t really wrap it because it’s kind of big, so I’ll have to take you to it.” Her face falls with disappointment as she hears that she has to wait even longer for her present, even if it is so much larger than life that it couldn’t be wrapped. She begrudgingly agrees to take the drive he insists will be a short one, but she’s still suspicious. They pack up the car with Leo in tow, and once they approach the outskirts of Central Park, he asks her to put on a blindfold because even though Mindy isn’t that great with directions, one look out the window will ruin everything. After five slaps from Mindy, one thinly veiled accusation of getting kidnapped, and a threat to kill him if he kills her, which makes no sense to him but agrees to nonetheless, she puts on the blindfold. 

Danny spends most of the trip avoiding answering her 20 questions about her gift. Finally, he pulls the car into a parking spot and gets out to open the door for Mindy, careful not to misguide her onto the sidewalk step and up the stairs. He leaves Mindy to lean against a railing as he carries Leo out of the car. He takes Mindy’s hand and guides her inside where the air, albeit slightly stuffy, smells of cedar with hints of sweet vanilla. It’s oddly comforting, but if her present, she argues, is just a shopping spree at a diptyque candle store, she’ll never forgive him. 

“Merry Christmas!” He takes off her blindfold and waits for her reaction, setting Leo down and allowing him to explore the place.

She opens her eyes and studies the familiar yet unknown space. She’s been here before, feeling that sense of deja vu, but the space has been completely transformed into something she couldn’t imagine, not even back then. It used to be just wooden frames, and she’s starting to fill in those cracks and match up what she remembers to what she sees in front of her. The living room is painted a pale blue with matching curtains and a charcoal colored couch, there’s a sparsely decorated Christmas tree in the back corner next to the brick fireplace, the staircase has pine steps with white banisters on either side, and the kitchen has white marble counter tops with a island twice the size as her own. “The brownstone?” Her voice is small, and she feels that same wash of dread fall over her she felt when she first walked in years ago. 

“It’s not a Christmas present exactly, but I’m presenting a present, that is, if you want it.” She turns around to face him, the confusion still lining her face. “I know we haven’t talked about it, but the baby will be here soon, and we haven’t even set up a nursery yet. I was just thinking that maybe we can move here. The kids can each have their own room, and we finally get to have a place of our own. Harlem is kind of far from everything, but I don’t know,” he finishes with a hopeful shrug. “I think we could do it.”

Mindy swallows hard because to be completely honest, she hadn’t thought about their living situation all that much. She just kind of assumed they’d continue living at her apartment and everything would work out somehow. He’s practically all moved into her place anyway, and she technically has two apartments in one, giving them the luxury of space. She wanders into the living room, a finger tracing the smooth edge of the wooden mantle above the fireplace, and thinks about his proposal. “Umm.”

His shoulders fall seeing her hesitate. “You hate it. Never mind, I should’ve known. Let’s just go,” he concedes, already wondering where Leo could’ve wandered off to.

“No! No, I don’t hate it. I’m just... thinking.” She remembers when he first brought her here and what a shell of a house it was, but actually being in it where there are actual walls and furniture pieces and a Christmas tree in the corner, she can see their two kids running down the stairs and opening presents under the tree. The spacious kitchen would be the place where Danny teaches their kids how to cook and build gingerbread houses, the entry way where their kids would smother them with hugs when they come home from work. She remembers the backyard he mentioned, and they could put in a swing set for their kids there or a trampoline. The possibilities are endless, and she can imagine it all, but she also really loves where they are now. Leo grew up in her apartment, took his first steps there, and whether or not she ends up selling it or keeping it, it’ll be hard to part with it. 

She’s excited for the potential to have a new space for their family to grow and make new memories in, but Harlem is on the opposite side of Manhattan. Their lives are complicated enough as two doctors with two kids, but commuting from Harlem to the East Village sounds like a pain. She’s getting frustrated just thinking about the traffic, the crowds at the subway stations and wrangling their kids even earlier in the morning to get everyone to their destination in time. They could always work at another practice with another hospital and find another school, but she has no interest in leaving all her friends at Shulman and uprooting her life and Leo’s life like that.

Leo returns from his adventures and tugs on the material of Danny’s jeans. He bends down and tells him that he has a surprise outside and that he’ll be out there in a little bit. Danny waits for Leo to be out of ear shot before asking, “Mindy, what do you think?”

“I love it, I really do, but I don’t know. Harlem is really far from work, Leo’s school, and your mother. And what about my apartment? And your apartment? I just- it’s a lot.” 

“Yeah, I know it’s a lot to consider, but I don’t want us to feel like I’m living at your apartment or you’re living at mine. Don’t you want a place that’s ours?”

The way he softly says 'ours' makes it harder to say no. “I do, but I also really love where we are now. I don’t want to ruin it and complicate things any more than we have to. And moving to Harlem - the commute to work and school would be an even bigger nightmare than it already is, and I don’t want us to have to find another place to work or another school for Leo.”

He studies her carefully, and he can sense something deeper bothering her than just finding another place to work. “You think we’re not going to make it,” he resigns.

“What? I didn’t say that.”

“But that’s what you meant, isn’t it? Because moving here would complicate things and then we’ll fight again and break up again because that’s what we do, right?”

“No!” She can feel them spiraling already, and she needs to get a handle on it. “Maybe, I- It’s just that this,” she gestures between them, “is still kind of new, and I don’t want to ruin it.”

“New? Mindy, it’s me. It’s _us.”_

“I know, but-“

“Even after everything we’ve been through,” he shakes his head, “unbelievable.”

“Where are you going?”

“Outside. I need to check on Leo.”

"Danny, wait," she pleads, but it's useless. He's already down the hall, and she can hear the dull and distance latch of a sliding door closing.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is officially the longest multi chapter fic I've ever written, my goodness. I don't know how much longer this will be, but I'm hoping to finish it and keep it under 20 chapters. Thanks for sticking around with me on this fic!

Danny steps outside into the chilly air and joins his son at the swing set he bought for their house, pushing him high in the air. Tears prickle and burn his eyes just thinking of the idea that maybe Mindy isn’t in it as much as he is or as much as he thought she was. After everything they’ve been through, especially over the past seven months, he expected her to have a little bit more faith in them and in him. He understands why she’s hesitant considering their past history - their track record isn’t exactly stellar - but he had hoped that by now, she'd be more confident in them. He knows he is, and it feels like a rejection to hear she isn’t, like she’s just waiting for the next big fight to tear them apart.

But then it hits him that he’s done the same thing - always waiting for something to go wrong, for her to leave him, for her to realize that he’s not enough and not what she really wants. He promised her he was all in and that their relationship was real, but being so scared of moving in together, marrying her, losing her, disappointing her, and hurting her, he never was all in. He can’t really blame her at this point because she’s only protecting herself especially when the stakes are even higher this time.  

Maybe this is what she had felt like when she mistakenly thought he was merging his two apartments into one to make room for her when, really, he was making room for his mother - the feeling that maybe they aren’t as committed as they say they are. Despite that, she stayed with him and waited for him to come around and get over his fears when she didn’t have to. Mindy could've given up on them way before they ever broke up, and he feels like he owes her now. He's not going to let this break them, and he’ll wait for her just like she did for him. She deserves at least that much.

The gentle sliding of the door signals her presence, and he meets her on the concrete patio.

“You bought a swing set?” She sounds in awe of it, like it’s something she’s always wanted, and his heart dances just thinking that he had possibly made a mini dream of hers come true. 

“Yeah.”

She stands beside him as they both look out into the yard where Leo is still happily playing, and she crosses her arms to shield herself against the cold air. He starts to remove his coat for her, but she reminds him that she runs hot. “Space heater,” she says casually with a shrug of her shoulder. 

“You know,” he begins after a moment, still looking ahead, “I used to think I knew what it meant or what it took to be all in, but I didn’t. I was scared to move in with you, marry you… I just,” he sighs, “I remember the look on your face when you thought I was knocking down the wall between my apartments so you could move in-“

“It was wrong of me to assume-“

“It wasn’t though. At all. It wasn’t wrong to want us to move in together, but it was wrong of me to be scared of it after,” he grumbles low in frustration, his hand balling into a fist in his coat pocket, ”after I said I was all in, but never acted like it. I hurt you, and I’m sorry.” She nods silently, remembering how stupid she felt for thinking he would combine his apartments for her. It occurs to her that he probably feels the same way now as she did back then when rejecting the idea of having a place that was theirs meant questioning their future. “But you still chose to be with me, not knowing if or when I would come around, and I never thanked you for that.”

“I loved you. I wasn’t going to give up that easily.” She playfully nudges his elbow with hers and a small smile runs across his face because no, Mindy Lahiri never gives up on anything. She finally turns to face him. “I still do, you know. Love you.”

Danny matches her stance and tells her he knows. “I love you too.”

She snakes her arms around his waist and rests her cheek on his chest. He envelops her in his arms, and it almost makes her want to cry out of pure relief because she feels like the lingering pressure and anxiety to really make this relationship work this time has been lifted. Even though they've grown up a lot over the past couple of years and they know each other better than anyone else, it's still scary to put her heart out on the line. But being in his arms, knowing that he intends to see them through makes it a little less scary.

“You know, what if we just tore down that wall in your apartment? We could sell this place and use the money to do the renovations?”

“Really?" leaning away from her in surprise, "But what about your place?”

“We could sell it too. That was the plan anyway when I moved into your place a couple of years ago.  _Or_ we could sell all three and find a place of our own... together.”

“Yeah?” he asks, smile is slowing forming on his face.

“Yeah.”

“I’d like that.”

She smiles back at him, happy that everything is finally falling into place for them, before suggesting that maybe it's a good time to tell Leo about the future move and about them being back together. He agrees, teasing that it's about time, and she calls Leo over and bending down to meet him. “We have a couple more surprises for you.”

“Really?!” he asks excitedly. “What kind of surprises?”

“How do you feel about moving to a new house with lots of space for you to play in? And maybe with a backyard like this one?”

His eyes widen as he imagines all the possibilities, and he nods his head vigorously in favor of the idea. “Really?! Can we keep the swing set? Ooh, can I get a tree house?!”

Danny chuckles at his requests. “If there’s enough room for it all, we can talk about it.”

“And your father and I,” Mindy continues, inhaling deeply and looking at Danny before turning back to Leo, “have decided to be together again.”

“It’s okay, Mommy, I already knew.”

“Leo!” She sighs again. “Okay, well, thanks for ruining the surprise, you sneaky head.” Mindy tickles his stomach and he breaks down in giggles before surrendering and offering his apologies in attempt to make her stop, which she does. “But you’re okay with it though?”

“Yeah,” he nods with a grin.

“Okay, good. We love you.”

“Love you too.”

“You ready to go home?” Danny asks, bending down to one knee. Leo nods once more, and Danny kisses him on the cheek, the scruff on his face making him giggle again. “Alright, let’s go.” He takes Leo’s hand in his and walks them back inside with Mindy following closely behind. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not really happy how I ended this chapter, but it's the best I could do right now (heh) and I don't have any more patience to edit it. And idk how Leo would know Mindy and Danny got back together, but honestly it's just a cheap cop out so I didn't have to write a whole thing about it lol.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think there'll be about 2 or 3 more chapters left of this fic because I feel like I'm running out of ideas (heh), so we're in the home stretch here. It's also going to take a little longer for the next update because I haven't written the next chapter yet oops. I've been doing really well with having 2-3 chapters written ahead of time, but not anymore lol

They attend Shulman and Associates New Year's Eve Countdown Party, and while alcohol consumption used to be required to get through its entirety, Mindy finds that going through it sober isn’t as bad as it used to be. Morgan is playing with Leo, describing each and every one of his dogs that he brought, which might end up being a bad idea because the last thing Mindy and Danny need is Leo asking for a dog. Jeremy and Danny are catching up while she, Anna, and Tamra are huddled together in the bull pen, trading overheard secrets from the other nurses, and it’s honestly one of the best parties Shulman and Associates have ever thrown.

Mindy and Danny leave early though because holiday or not, Leo needs to go to sleep by his bedtime, much to his dismay. He convinces them both that he’s old enough and has enough energy to stay awake until midnight to watch the ball drop, but in reality he doesn’t make it past 10:30 pm, and he’s fallen asleep wedged between the couch and Mindy’s side. They’re half-heartedly watching the New Year's Eve special on TV, not wanting to stir their sleeping child. 

The camera pans over all the people in Times Square, and Mindy tries to stifle her laughter, but her shaking body gives her away. Danny looks at her with confusion, not knowing what on earth would make her laugh when they’re barely doing anything at all. “What’s so funny?” 

“I just remembered the last time we were last in Times Square,” she giggles. 

He searches his memory year by year of all the times he stepped foot in the crowded tourist attraction, which isn’t many to begin with. That place is truly a hell hole, but then he remembers and chuckles alongside her. “I remember.”

“Now we’re old, sitting on the couch with,” gesturing over their not so little lion, the very child they conceived in Times Square “and, I don’t know, it’s insane, isn’t it? So much has changed.”

“Yeah,” he says quietly, almost at a whisper. They stay silent for a few minutes, the cheers on the television filling the silence of her apartment and waking up Leo. 

“Is it midnight yet?” he murmurs, eyes still closed and curling closer into the crook of Mindy’s arm.

“No, not yet,” kissing the top of his head and sweeping away the waves of his hair with her palm, “go back to sleep, baby.” She rests her cheek on the top of his head and shakily inhales, feeling the aching warmth bubbling deep from her chest and the tears forming in her eyes. It sort of dawns on her that it won’t be just the three of them for that much longer, and her little boy is only getting older and growing up. He will never be as little as he is in this moment, and as excited as she is to welcome another child, everything will change and she will never get to experience life as a family of three anymore. They will never experience another Christmas or another New Year the same way again, and it makes her sad because it feels like she’s losing something even though she’s gaining more than she could’ve ever hoped for in her entire life. Mindy holds Leo closer, telling herself to remember the way he’s softly snoring against her chest and the way he fits under her arm.

A few tears silently roll down the side of her cheek and onto Leo’s hair, and it isn’t long before she sniffles and Danny realizes she’s crying. 

“Hey,” he soothes, laying a reassuring hand on her legs that are resting on his lap, “why are you crying? They haven’t even gotten to the part where they interview all the couples yet.” She cries when she hears the background stories of how and why the couples choose to be in Times Square ringing in the new year because it makes her feel that love is not, in fact, dead. 

“No,” choking out a laugh, “it’s not that. I’m just- It hit me that this is the last New Year’s we’ll have with just us three, in this apartment, and it’ll never be the same again.”

“Mindy,“ he says softly.

“And it’s his last couple of months being an only child, and I’m-“ she pauses wiping away the hot tears, “I know that having another baby is great and wonderful, but I’m going to miss this. Us.”

His face softens, not knowing what to say to make her feel better but also knowing that nothing can change how she feels. He moves to kneel beside her and uses the end of sleeves to wipe away the dampness on her face and apologizes because even though it’s not his fault, he can’t help but feel sorry. He tells her this isn’t an ending but a beginning and they can still make this last New Year’s Eve as a family of three memorable, and they do just that. 

With about ten minutes to go until midnight, they wake Leo up so he can see the ball drop, and despite just being in a deep slumber moments before, he’s buzzing with excitement looking at all the bright colors on the television. Once midnight hits, they can hear the distant booms and pops of the fireworks coming from Times Square and Central Park, and Leo runs to the window to see them. He catches the tail ends of the flares, pressing his nose to the window to see them in its full glory as much as possible. Mindy and Danny chuckle at his excitement and tell him that he can see the fireworks better on tv, but Leo insists on seeing them in person, asking if he could go out to the fire escape to see them.

They quickly put on their puffiest and coziest coats to brave the chilly New York cold and huddle up together on Mindy’s fire escape to see the last of the fireworks. Leo is sitting on Danny’s lap, pointing in awe at all the different colors and shapes dancing in the sky, and his unbridled happiness makes Mindy smile. She is still going to miss these moments of just the three of them, but she knows only better things will come. She huddles closer into Danny’s radiating warmth and links her arm through his. “Happy New Year, Danny.”

“Happy New Year, Min.”


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Well, temporarily anyway haha. I don't know when I'll next update because I'm working a lot of hours over the next couple of weeks, and I'm starting the process of moving, so having the time to write is a rarity these days. Thank you all for bearing with me and being so patient as I try to finish this fic.

As soon as the holidays are over, they hit the ground running in trying to sell their properties and finding a new one. Any free time they have, they’re touring properties, meeting potential buyers, looking into different moving companies, narrowing down what their requirements are for their new place, and of course, arguing over said requirements because apparently a three sided floor to ceiling mirror in a walk in closet was, according to Danny, “too much.”

They eventually settle on a perfect 3 bed, 3 bath apartment located in the West Soho/Hudson Square area on Charlton Street, right in between Danny’s place in Tribeca and Mindy’s current space in the West Village. It has a pristine white kitchen with all the newest appliances that opens up into the dining and living room, a must on Danny’s list of requests, and with multiple walk in closets, the apartment is spacious enough for Mindy’s expansive wardrobe. 

Danny sells his Tribeca apartment pretty quickly, leaving his second unit out to rent to maintain some cash flow. After the extensive remodeling he’s done to the apartment in Harlem, it sells just as quickly. Mindy’s apartment takes a bit longer to get off their hands, much to their surprise, but they find that it’s a blessing in disguise because they don’t have to rush the transition of moving from one apartment to the other. They can take a little more time in deciding which piece of whose furniture to keep or sell and making the new apartment their own. 

By mid February, Mindy, Danny, and Leo are completely moved in, and Mindy’s old apartment has just been sold. Leo has his own room, which is right next door to their master bedroom, and it’s perfect. They decide not to turn the third bedroom into a nursery because it’s located on the opposite side of the apartment, and it’s just too unsettling for them to have a newborn so isolated like that, so they start building the crib in their room, which is presenting its own set of issues.

Danny is almost red in the face from frustration because despite following the instructions carefully and successfully building the crib years before, he has three screws in his curled fist that aren’t meant to be there. He’s muttering under his breath, repeating the instructions to himself and doing a mental checklist of all the steps to see where he went wrong. 

“Danny, you have literally built this crib just fine before,” she whines impatiently from their bed. “What is taking so long?”

“Sorry, I know _you_ have lots to do when _you_ finish building the crib for our child,” he quips. He may be distracted by the white structure in front of him, but his mind is always sharp to give it as good as he got. 

“Ha, ha, very funny.” 

“Ohhhh,” Danny exclaims, holding the instruction pamphlet out in the air. “I knew that! Stupid,” he mutters, realizing his mistake and unscrewing the side panel. “We’re back in business, Mindy!”

“Ugh, thank God.”

One hour and at least 8 expletives later, the crib is finally done, and Danny rips the instruction pamphlet in celebration. 

“Hey!" she exclaims. "What if we need that for our future children?!”

“We won’t need it. I’d rather have another kid immediately after this one just to avoid building that thing again.” Danny climbs atop the covers next to Mindy and groans in relief, the ache in his bones slowly melting away. 

“That’s nice, I guess?” She wrinkles her nose, not sure if that was a positive or a negative thing, but he’s snuggling into her side, and her thoughts fly away. They lie together in silence for a few minutes when Danny's light snoring catches her attention. "Hey, Danny," she whispers, gently poking him in the face. "Hey, wake up."

“Hmm?”

“What’s for dinner?”

He groans at the thought of cooking dinner. "Too tired," he mutters into her sleeve before suggesting ordering take out.

"Okay," she agrees, but neither of them make a move to order said take out. She loudly clears her throat, so he can get the hint. He sighs.

"Would you like me to order the take out?"

“Ugh, yes, thank you. I thought you’d never ask. I'd like my usual order from that Thai place in Greenwich Village. You know the one. And then a cookies and cream milkshake from Chick-fil-a, but not the one off East 8th Street because they skimp on the Oreos. Go to the one on 6th Avenue.” He still doesn't move from his spot on the bed and closes his eyes as she rattles off her dinner requests. "Danny! Are you even listening? This is very important."

"Yes, I know, it is very important, but I also know you're going to change your mind and ask me to go to your second favorite Thai food place in Tribeca instead of the one in Greenwich because the pineapple fried rice is better at that one instead, and then you're going to want the cookies and cream milkshake from Shake Shack because the consistency is better. See? Am I right?"

She eyes him suspiciously. "Maybe."

He smiles a little smugly and kisses her cheek before getting out of bed. "Love you!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The apartment I described is a real apartment for sale in Manhattan. I spent like an hour on Zillow trying to find an apartment that could even remotely fit Mindy and Danny's styles lol #research. And I don't know what the housing market is like over there, so let's just pretend it's super easy and fast to sell an apartment.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me? Back with another chapter? Can you believe?!
> 
> It's kind of a sap-fest, oops haha

After the roller coaster that was the past year, this year is all about second chances and doing things over and better again. Their last baby shower was a disaster to say the least - there were tears of the wrong kind, more exes than he was ever expecting, and uninvited heartbreak.

Danny expertly coordinates with Jeremy, Anna, Tamra, and Morgan to create the surprise baby shower Mindy never really had - classy gold and blush colored banners line their apartment walls upon Tamra’s insistence, a three-tiered carrot cake from Mindy’s favorite bakery sits grandly at the dessert station, no exes are in sight, and it’s as drama free as one can expect with the eclectic group of co-workers turned friends and family.

Danny clears his throat and stands to address the crowd he’s proud to call his family and friends. “Hi, everyone. I just want to thank you for coming and making this evening so special for us, especially Mindy. As many of you know, our last baby shower,” he chuckles wryly, “didn’t exactly go to plan in many ways, but um, I’m really happy you are all here to celebrate with us.

“Mindy,” he turns to her, “sometimes I can’t believe how far we’ve come. We’re kind of a mess most of the time,” he smiles, “but I love you and our family more every day, and I’m so happy that I was given the chance to do this with you. You have the biggest heart, and I hope our daughter is just like you, and I can’t wait for the next chapter in our lives to begin.”

He looks at the woman he loves most sitting on their couch with their son by her side, and he can’t imagine life without them. It makes him emotional just thinking about how much he loves them. They’ve gone to hell to back to get to where they are today, and he never wants to go back to the darkness of being without them. He’s going to try to remember that. 

He raises his glass to her. “To Mindy.”

Their friends and family repeat after him and it echoes the apartment. She stands to wrap her arms around his neck, and he bends his head to kiss the space between her neck and shoulder before releasing her. “I love you.”

She smiles and her voice can’t quite let her say it back, so she just kisses him and everyone lets out a collective “awww,” and it’s enough to take them out of the moment. They both laugh before Danny turns to everyone. “Okay, everyone, just enjoy yourselves. We have more food and drinks going around, we’ll be cutting the cake soon, so have fun. Thank you for coming.”

Danny catches Leo as he leaps off the couch and into his arms. “Help me and Mommy cut the cake?”

“Yay, cake time?!”

“I think it’s time for cake, let’s go.”

They all gather around the extensive dessert station to cut the cake when he notices a few missing forkfuls. He eyes the most likely culprit, but Mindy pretends she’s not seeing what he’s seeing. “Just cut the cake already,” she impatiently and eagerly instructs. 

Danny lets Leo take hold of the knife first before he wraps his own hand over his son’s to cut the cake. Mindy stays close by with plates and begins distributing them to their guests until they all get a slice before Danny cuts a small slice for Leo. 

“Can you eat the cake without getting frosting everywhere?” he asks, placing him back down and letting him run free.

“Of course I can,” he replies with a playful shake of his head at the absurd question. Danny lightly pinches his cheeks and sends him off to his own devices.

The night continues with gifts and games until 10 pm when Leo has gone to bed and people have begun to trickle home and Danny has gotten a head start with cleaning up. Jeremy and Anna are the only ones to stay behind to help clean up the last of the left over plates and cups. Danny is leaning against the door and Mindy is leaning against him as they say their last goodbyes to Jeremy and Anna.

“Thanks for coming and staying behind to clean up. It means a lot.”

“Of course. Congratulations, we’re so happy for you two.”

Anna agrees with a smile. “Thank you for having us. Good night.”

“Good night,” Mindy waves as Danny quietly closes the door with a sigh. 

“Finally.”

Mindy groans in agreement as she makes a beeline towards the couch. “Ugh, I know, I’m exhausted.”

He joins her at her side and kicks his feet up on their coffee table, placing an arm behind her and closing his eyes. She rests her head against his arm on the back of the couch and drums a finger against the material of the couch between them. The drumming continues until he feels her breath on the side of his cheek, and he knows she’s staring at him and maybe on the verge of saying something. He opens his eyes, blinking to adjust his vision, and offers her a tired smile. 

“Thank you for putting this together. I know you hate these kinds of things.”

He shakes his head and smiles because he does, and she knows it so well, but he’d also do anything for her. “Not always. Not for you.”

She smiles, leaning in closer to give him a kiss, and drapes an arm over his torso, removing the space between them. “Thank you.”

Danny drops a soft kiss in her hair. “Any time.”


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We finally meet their little one

The slow trickling of water down her thigh wakes her up, and Mindy sits up to damp bedsheets. She vaguely recalls the contractions she felt throughout the night, but they were so minor that she went back to sleep. She quietly gets up from their bed and changes into a new pair of sweat pants in their bathroom when a shot of pain slowly overtakes her abdomen. She breathes through it until she hears Danny’s panicked voice, presumably from after feeling the wet sheets across from him. 

“Mindy?” He finds her sitting on the closed toilet seat with one hand on her stomach, the other behind her, supporting herself. He gets on his knees in front of her and puts a hand on hers. “Is everything okay? Are you in labor right now?”

“Kind of,” she exhales.

“Kind of? What does that mean? How far apart are your contractions?” he asks in a panic.

“I don’t know yet, but I just felt one. I had some during the night, but they were barely aches. I just went back to sleep.”

“Okay,” he nods, “stay here and wait for the next one. I’ll call Ma to watch Leo, grab our stuff, and we’ll go to the hospital.” 

She nods and makes a note of the time on the clock - 5:23 AM - as Danny gets everything ready. He returns to the bathroom at 5:35 AM on the dot and asks if she experienced another contraction. 

“No, not yet.”

“Good, we should have enough time. Ma will be here in about half an hour.”

They take the time to eat a light breakfast and finish getting ready. Once Danny’s mother arrives, Mindy and Danny wake Leo up to tell him his grandmother will be watching him for the day because his baby sister is on her way. His face bursts with excitement as they tell him the news. Mindy gives their son a tight hug because these are the last moments she will have with him as an only child and places a hand on Danny’s shoulder as a sign that it’s time to go. 

They give Annette a run down of Leo’s schedule for the day before they leave, and she dismisses them quickly. “Don’t worry about a thing. Leo will be fine, and you two will be fine too. Just go have a baby. I want to meet my granddaughter!” she exclaims, encouraging them to leave.

Mindy and Danny arrive at the hospital, and she appreciates the fact she isn’t giving birth on the subway with no drugs. Maybe the substantially less dramatic circumstances surrounding her labor is a good indicator of their daughter’s inability of taking after her parents’ flair for the dramatics, but she enters the world with a hefty set of lungs.

The nurse places their crying daughter in Mindy’s arms, and the immediate love for her makes her heart burst along with the tears in her eyes. Finally nestled in Mindy’s arms, the baby stops crying and her mouth forms a perfect O shape. Mindy gently caresses the thick hair on her daughter’s head and looks up at Danny in awe. She returns her gaze back down to her daughter in time to see her open her eyes for the first time.

“Hi, baby girl,” she says softly with a smile.

“She looks like you,” he says quietly, not quite believing it yet. He had always imagined what their daughter would look like, and the baby in Mindy's arms is something greater and better than he could ever dream of. Danny kisses Mindy's temple, bringing her attention back to him. She studies his face, and she knows that doing this with him is meant to be. He smiles and captures her lips for a kiss before giving her the slightest nod.

“What should we name her?” he asks.

Mindy hesitates because none of the names they’ve discussed seem to fit the tiny human being in her arms, but it suddenly clicks for her. “What about Emma?”

“Emma Castellano,” he smiles, looking at his daughter, “It’s perfect.” He asks to hold her, and Mindy laughs softly at the absurdity of the question. Danny takes her in his arms, and he’s overwhelmed with how much he loves her. He feels the same awe and all encompassing love he felt when Leo was born, but he feels it ten times harder because without their daughter, who knows where they’d be today. 

“Okay, give her back, I miss her already.”

He chuckles because he can tell that’s just an indicator of what’s to come - fighting over their little girl. He returns Emma to her rightful place in Mindy’s arms, announcing that he would bring in Leo to meet his little sister. 

Leo peeks his head inside the hospital room, weary of entering without permission, with Danny close behind. Danny encourages and allows him to enter, but he still proceeds with caution, unfamiliar with the new surroundings, until Mindy calls him over.

“Come meet your baby sister, Emma.”

He gets up on his toes and peers over the bundle in Mindy’s arms, curiously wrinkling his nose at the strange, tiny person. “Is that my sister?” 

“Yeah,” Mindy chuckles, “do you want to hold her?”

He thinks about it and eyes his sister cautiously. “Okay.” 

Danny lifts him up, placing him in the middle of the hospital bed at the end of Mindy’s feet, and takes Emma from Mindy. He carefully places her on Leo’s slightly outstretched arms, instructing him to gently hold her head. 

“Hi Emma.” She coos away, completely unaware that she’s in new hands, and Leo warms up to her a little more, offering his parents a wide smile. “I like her.” 

Morgan take this moment to burst in through the door with a larger than life stuffed dog. It starts off a chain reaction of guests and stuffed animal gifts from their friends and family, and after three days, they finally return back home to their apartment.

They set their belongings next to the door and place their newborn daughter in her crib with Leo peering in between the columns. Mindy can feel Leo against her leg, and she weaves her hand through his hair while she turns the other way to look at the man she was so close to giving up. Mindy smiles, finally at peace, and she's ready for the rest of their lives to begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't decided yet, but I think this is the end of this fic. This entire story was so rewarding to write. I hope you all enjoyed reading it, and thank you all so much for your encouraging and lovely comments. See you soon *hand peace sign emoji*


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